Disclaimer: The characters from Harry Potter books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer do not belong to me. I merely use them in my plot for fun.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Memory"(from chapter 16)

BETA:light-hearted69Chapter Seventeen:

No 12, Grimmauld Place:

Harry was silent and pensive that morning. Sirius tried joking with him but the young teen was not much into it. Finally it was Remus that told Sirius to talk to Harry. So the former convict took Harry and with the promise of warm chocolate, led him to his own bedroom, for more privacy.

The green eyed teen had not been in Sirius' room before. It looked like the room of a teen. It was in very good condition though and despite the mess, clean enough, compared to the rest of the house.

"Harry…"

"Hm? Er, yes Sirius?"

The former convict watched him pace the room, sipping hot chocolate and pausing every now and then.

"Harry, you know you can talk to me. About anything."

Harry paused. Could he really tell him about what he had seen? He really liked Crystal (and Draco when his sister was near). Seeing her through Voldemort's eyes, feeling that monster's anticipation about meeting her had made him shiver. Then the connection took a worse turn when a Vampire appeared. He remembered Lupin's lessons about Angelus the Scourge of Europe. Once he had woken up, and after the first shock had passed, Harry had been nauseous. It turned out that Crystal, or what that... creature had called her…Bufty? Duffy? Buffy? Harry shrugged mentally, sticking to that one fact, Crystal knew Angelus. They were mates. What could that mean?

Harry focused back on his godfather. He offered the older wizard a soft, tired smile. "I know. Thank you."

Sirius searched his face before nodding. "Of course. Hey, you like the Sphinxes?"

Harry checked the Quidditch poster and smiled. "They're okay…"

"Okay? They're the best!"

Malfoy Manor:

Buffy's room...

Buffy, was sitting on her bed, just staring at the ceiling.

The events of the night before were constantly on her mind, taunting her.

"Angelus," Buffy whispered.

"I'm back baby," he told her and his face hardened. "We need to have a long, long talk lover."

Buffy sighted. Why? Why did he have to return? Why was Drusilla right? Why would the Powers not let her live her life, move on and be happy?

"There is a fine line between love and hate, prey and predator, you and me." Angelus moved closer.

Oh, how right he was. A fine line indeed. And they both crossed that line. She crossed that line, both with Angel and Angelus.

"Step closer and I'll hurt you," Buffy promised.

But could she? Could Buffy hurt him again?

Buffy knew the answer. Seeing the look on Angel's face as she pierced him with that sword… The Slayer shivered. No. she would not hurt him again. The last time had left her numb. For some time she had been unable to function properly without him.

'Pitiful, that's what I had been,' Buffy darkly thought. She turned on her stomach and gripped one of her many pillows with a hard grip, her fingers turning white. "I hate this."

A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts but she still did not reply to whoever was at her door.

After a while that person, who it turned out it was her own brother.

"Crystal?" Draco tried.

"Dray?" Buffy mumbled. She lifted her head and peeked at her brother.

"You did not come to breakfast," Draco told her. "Our parents let you go last night because of what happened. But do not even think you can get away from me."

"Dra-"

"I'm not going away. We need to talk Buffy. All of us; as a family."

Buffy hid her face in the pillows.

"Crystal…"

"Give me five…"

"Five?" Draco asked.

"Minutes," Buffy told him.

"Okay," her brother agreed and then he was gone.

Family drawing room…

Lucius was up and pacing. The events of the previous night did not let him sleep at all last night. He had never thought, not even in his wildest nightmares that something like this could happen. His own flesh and blood, mated with a Vampire. And not just some Vampire, no. She had chosen the Scourge of Europe, Angelus himself. That bloody, sadistic, evil creature. Lucius felt a shiver, despite the warmth of the room.

"Lucius," Narcissa's voice reached him.

The witch was no less worried about her daughter. She had heard about Angelus from her own sister, apart from what she had been taught at school. That creature, when she realized she had been in the same vicinity she had reached for her wand. Vampires were vile creatures, bloodthirsty killers that were to be feared and kept at a distance. And then her daughter stepped up.

'Merlin and Morgana,' Narcissa thought as she brought her hands together to keep them from shaking.

Lucius placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, offering some comfort.

Draco joined them. "She's coming."

"Thank you son," Lucius whispered.

Draco nodded and sat as well.

Buffy was not late to come. She hesitantly entered the room. She was dressed in jeans, those muggle clothes she liked so much, and a cream colored shirt.

"Good morning," she whispered. She received quiet murmurs and greetings as she, too, took a seat.

"So you can answer this for me then?" Lucius continued. "How does a Slayer and a Vampire get together?"

A bitter smile appeared on Buffy's face. Narcissa thought it looked wrong on one as young as this girl, her own daughter.

"That's… well, it happens once in a lifetime," Buffy told her, a smile on her face as she recalled how she first met Angel. She had brought that cross along with her and she now held it in her palms. She told her family about the Alley. She told them how she and Angel had danced around each other for a year until with Willow's intervention they tried dating. She told them how she realized she was in love. How Angel had been as well. She told them about the Judge, about nearly dying alongside with him. She went on about the curse of that Gypsy clan, that clause she had come to hate. That clause that tied her to Angelus long after her Angel's soul had returned to oblivion. She told them about how a demon courted, how Angelus showed his favor, how he had almost sent the world to Hell, just because he could not have her.

And when she was done that she stayed silent, waiting for their decision.

The males stayed silent as a very composed Buffy tried to calm Narcissa. "Mother, I have come to terms with my life," Buffy told her. "I have no regrets, being a Slayer makes regrets a nuisance. I live for the moment. And I will never regret what I lived with Angel."

"What about Angelus?" Draco asked. The attention was now on him. "Because from what you are telling us, you well, you know…" he trailed off, with a blush.

"Yes, I also wanted to ask," Lucius spoke then. "What did Angelus mean about you two being… mates?" The distaste was obvious in his voice.

"Ah, that," Buffy whispered. She carefully unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it to the side, showing a scar where the tissue was almost unable for them to see, but they could feel a pulse of magic.

Buffy felt odd under their scrutiny.

"It's a bite mark," Lucius murmured.

Buffy nodded.

"So you have…consummated the relationship," Narcissa whispered.

For some reason Buffy was embarrassed when her own mother commented on that. She had not been this embarrassed when Giles had learned about it. Now she was mortified.

"So… you and Angelus," Draco said. "Is he any better than Aunt Bella or worse?"

"Draco!" their parents yelled.

But Crystal smiled. It felt good that her family seemingly accepted.

She missed Lucius' odd look.

End of chapter

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